Learning to Breathe
by Static Insanity
Summary: Karin Kurosaki already knew the truth behind the shinigami's battle against the arrancar. So she went to Soul society as a shinigami to train and help his brother. She also discovers what life really means and perhaps falling in love? CHAP. 11 UPDATED!
1. The Tough Decision

Hello! This is my first anime fanfic and it was HitsuKarin.. hehe. Hope you like it and don't forget to review, thank you!

**Synopsis**: Karin Kurosaki already knew the truth behind the shinigami's battle against the arrancar. So she went to Soul society as a shinigami to train and help his brother. She also discovers what life really means and perhaps falling in love?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach, i'm just an avid fan :D

* * *

**The Tough Decision**

The sun was setting and a raven-haired girl was walking away from the dusty soccer field. Her face was gloomier than usual and she often spaces out most of the time, affecting everyone around her, especially her family. Recently, Yuzu kept on bombarding her questions about her sudden change and her father was strangely quiet and meek when she was around. But, even though she had the urge to tell them the reason, she promised herself to keep it with herself; just by herself. Why? Because it might make things worse than it seems.

She already knew everything. Everything that was happening was already clear to her; all about the Arrancar, Hueco Mundo, Sousuke Aizen and his true intentions was clear to her. It was a long story of how she knew about it, but these things made her life more complicated than ever. She was dead sure that Karakura Town was in danger and so were her friends, Yuzu, her father and…

"Ichi-nii…" she mumbled quietly as she was striding past the evergreen trees near the sea. At first, she felt anger against her own brother for hiding the truth from her. But somehow, he was just protecting them from a mess, a mess way beyond their understanding. But now, she understood everything, and it did scare the living daylights out of her. But this frightened feeling was short lived, and was replaced by an urge to protect her family.

She stopped suddenly. She was standing at the same spot, the spot where she once stood when she saw Toushiro. She couldn't help but remember the times when she was pestering him about helping their soccer team, the look on his face when he saw her injured and his last words for her. He was an interesting person, she thought. Even though he was young, he was very strong and skilled to fight. She wanted to be like him, he looks like they're the same age but he can protect someone without hesitation. The thoughts of him had encouraged her to face a tough decision.

She was thinking of awakening her shinigami powers. She knew full well the risk of it, but there's only one thing in her mind; she must protect her family. There were those sleepless nights, the nights when she lied awake, staring blankly at the ceiling. She wanted to be a shinigami, so she can protect her family and so are her friends. Even though her brother won't permit it, she had already decided. Even though she knew that Yuzu will get sad when she left and so was her father, she thought it was for the greater good. These complicated situations should make her cry, but she remembered her resolution; that she will never cry again. She looked at the ginger sky and she remembered their encouraging remarks for her. _You're the strongest and bravest person I knew, I'm lucky to have a sister like you, Karin-chan; you're brave Karin, always stay the same; He's just like you, he will never give up._ She smiled unconsciously at the thought and ran towards the horizon.

She ran towards the street, and there she saw a meek looking girl who was sweeping in front of Urahara Shop, she stopped suddenly when she noticed Karin's presence.

"Karin-chan, what are you doing here? Do you want to play soccer with Jinta-kun?" She asked her timidly and resumed on sweeping the floor.

"No, it's not that. Ururu," she called.

"What?"

"I want to see Urahara-san."

* * *

"My, my, if it isn't Karin-chan," a blond man with a striped hat and wooden clogs greeted her brightly.

"Good evening, Urahara-san," she said shyly as he offered her to sit down. He smiled gaily at her as he swung his white fan.

"Tessai-san," he called and a muscular man with cornrows and rather peculiar glasses appeared before them, clutching a tray on his left hand. "Can you make us a tea, this could be a quite long discussion."

"What do you prefer, the green tea or the slimming one?"

"Green tea will do," Urahara said uncomfortably and Tessai walked away. Karin looked surprise when she heard him saying about a long discussion. Did he know something?

"I believe you already know it, am I correct?" he asked casually as Tessai placed their tea on the table.

"Yes,"

"Oh, I'm sorry if Ayasegawa-san and Madarame-san were too loud, you must have overheard them. Pretty careless, aren't they?" he said as he took a sip of his tea.

"It's alright, it's nothing. It's better for me to know than be clueless and act like everything's fine," she said bitterly, Urahara bit his lip.

"I see. So, you know about Aizen's plans about Karakura town? And it concerns you that your family and friends are in danger?"

She looked at him. She felt strange around him, as if he can read someone's mind. But who's not gonna be concerned if your family's in great peril, anyway?

"Yeah."

He took a sip of his tea. "Don't worry too much, your brother and his friends are now training hard to--!"

"Urahara-san, train me to become a shinigami!" She said firmly as she knelt down before him. He looked surprised at first but he smiled afterwards. "I want to become a shinigami! I want to protect Yuzu, dad and Ichi-nii! I'm tired of those times when I can't do anything whenever I see a hollow, I'm sick of acting like everything's fine. I know all about it, I always see hollows. And I always see the shinigamis getting beaten up so badly. I can't do anything to protect them." He placed his tea on the table and so was his fan.

"I know you are going to say this, but you're too young to become one and your brother's already there to save your family and so is the whole town." She looked up at him; she was clenching her fist and holding back her tears.

"But who's gonna protect Ichi-nii? What if he's in danger? I want to repay him somehow, for keeping us away from them. I don't care if I'm too young, age isn't a requirement of being a shinigami, is it?" she said, remembering Toushiro. "It doesn't matter, I'm physically well, and I may have a good amount of spirit power. I want to help Ichi-nii and the others, so please, I'm begging you to train me, Urahara-san." He sat up and straightened his posture.

"But you must understand the responsibilities you'll going to handle, Karin-chan. Being a shinigami isn't a game. You should already understand that being one is a big responsibility, its way beyond your understanding. Besides, you're brother won't permit it anyway and your sister and father will worry about you when you disappear."

"I'm dead serious, Urahara-san. I already decided about that matter. I know full well that being a shinigami is a really big responsibility. I already faced too many consequences, and those consequences made me strong." She said bitterly, her mother's sudden death made a great impact in her life. It made her a stronger and braver person. "I will tell them that I'm out for big soccer training outside town and reassure them that I'm perfectly safe and they shouldn't worry and stuff. And I don't care if Ichi-nii will get angry or what, I already made my resolution and I'm not turning back." Kisuke smiled at her, she was a really tough person than he thought she was, she was exactly like his brother.

"You know, you're very similar to your brother. You're very stubborn and persistent, not to mention that you're both brave and strong." He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I remembered it like it was yesterday, when he--!"

"Hey old man, are you going to train her or what?" Jinta said as he walked in, carrying his gigantic bat and Ururu followed.

"Jinta-kun…"

"All right then, if that's what your heart wants, then let's get it started." He said light heartedly as he stood up. Karin looked at him as though he had gone mad. She was somewhat astounded by his care-free attitude. It was seconds before she absorbed everything that had happened. She was going to be a shinigami after all.

"Er.. Do you mean now?"

"Of course, Karin-chan. But before that, you should pig out and stuff because it's going to be a sturdy night for you. And maybe I should tell your father that you're going to stay here for the rest of the week. So he will not be angry with you for being late with the 7 o' clock dinner time policy." He reassured her. She gulped at his response.

"You're not going to tell him the shinigami thingy are you?" She asked Urahara nervously. He waved his free hand at her,

"Of course not, silly." He said brightly as he went outside. Karin stood and felt happy and at the same time, nervous; since today, her life will change drastically. She couldn't help but get sad at the thought of missing soccer games with her friends, strolling at the park with Yuzu and so was kicking her father for being a terrible adviser for his kids. She will leave her old typical life and start a new one. Because now, she will fight the hollows or whoever plans on blowing up their town and whoever tries to harm her family; this time, it was business, and she will not hold back.

"Ichi-nii, I'll see you there, I'll be there soon."

* * *


	2. Crimson Phoenix

Hello again! This is the 2nd chapter of my story, when Karin had already discovered the name of her Zanpakutou.

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach :D

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**Crimson Phoenix**

Six days had already passed since she begged for Kisuke's help. Being a shinigami was very harsh indeed, she had to train hard to achieve her own shinigami powers. At first, she was released out of her body, and she appeared to be a soul with a chain that was locked on her chest. The first time she got out of her body, she can hardly breathe, as if someone was smothering her to death. But after she fought against Ururu, which she injured slighty, her breathing became normal again and it's because her spirit powers were slowly awakening. And after days of tireless training in Kisuke Urahara's humongous basement, she already became a shinigami, with the black kimono and her own katana.

She didn't even go home for the whole week, but she kept in touch with her family by the phone. She called almost everyday, chatting with Yuzu and her father. Sometimes, Yuzu prepares her some food to eat and Ururu delivers it for her, but she was still unaware of her sister's whereabouts. But Ururu said to Yuzu that she was a top secret soccer practice and no one should go there but the players. Karin also slays stray hollows as a part of her training, but she still doesn't know her Zanpakutou's name, but she always try hard to communicate with it and discover its real form. And for days and days, she had random dreams about fire, that made her slightly bothered.

She was sitting on one of the large stones in the basement. She had just finished her training and she was now taking a rest. She was breathing heavily and she seemed to be sleepy. So she climbed up to the store to take a nap, but still in her shinigami form. She walked towards the living room to lie down, and she noticed that no one's here but her. Maybe Urahara-san and Tessai-san went to buy something and Ururu and Jinta went to the park.

"Dang, I'm so sleepy. I'm hoping that there's no hollow lurking around while I'm taking my power nap."

She found herself standing on an endless inferno. There's nothing there but a sea of blazing fire and a large golden cage. She looked up and saw a beautiful, flaming phoenix inside the cage. It was gigantic; it was particularly 10 times her height. All in all, this inferno wasn't scary at all. And the weird thing is, she didn't feel the heat of the fire, even though its tongues were licking her body. She went near the golden cage; she stopped suddenly when the Phoenix spoke to her with a mystical voice.

"Good day young lady."

"Er, good day too. But where am I and who are you?" she asked abruptly. The phoenix turned around to face her.

"I am the real form of your Zanpakutou," Suddenly her eyes widened, the phoenix was her zanpakutou, and it was the most beautiful thing she saw by far. "My name is Shinkuootori."

"Shinkuootori…. Wow, this is amazing," she said admiringly as she went nearer to its cage. "Why are you locked up in this cage?"

"Because, I wasn't released yet, but your will to protect someone and your perseverance was the key to this cage. I've already watch you train and I've decided that you are indeed, deserve to free me in this cage," the phoenix said. "You can already release me; use me as an instrument to save the ones you love." Karin can't help but smile; she already got to release the true form of her Zanpakutou, and it was talking to her, encouraging her to protect her family.

"Thanks, Shinkuootori. But how can I free you? I can't see a lock here; it doesn't even have a door…"

"You don't need a key or a door, Karin. All you need to do was to say the words."

"Words? What words?" she asked. But everything faded and vanished into thin air. The endless furnace was gone, and so is the cage and Shinkuootori. She was back at the Urahara store, and she was lying awake in the living room. Damn, I didn't hear the words.

"A Hollow?" she said as she felt a weird reiatsu outside the door. She stood up and carried her katana. When she went outside, she saw a big hollow that resembled a horse. It was thrice her size and he sounds like one. She unsheathed her katana and jumped towards the hollow, but she was hit by its enormous hand and landed on the ground headfirst. She tried many times to get near the hallow, but it was no use.

"Crap, this is no good. If I could slay him from a far distance…"

She remembered her dream a while ago. She remembered about the phoenix, her zanpakutou.

_Release me, Karin._

She closed her eyes, and concentrated on what to say. She pointed her katana directly at the hollow and breathed heavily. _I have to protect them._

"_Free your wings and burn the skies, __**Shinkuootori**__."_

Her katana was suddenly covered by dancing flames. Then suddenly, the hollow was surrounded by a barrier made of fire, it temporarily immobilized the hollow.

"It's my chance,"

She jumped towards the Hollow and sliced it into half. Then the hollow disappeared and the fire that surrounded the hollow a while ago was absorbed by her zanpakutou, and the flames were gone. And the thing that felt odd this time was that she felt power the zanpakutou was restoring; it was indeed more powerful than before. When she sheathed her sword, someone behind her had applauded. She turned around to see Kisuke Urahara and Tessai beaming at her.

"That's a very beautiful Zanpakutou, indeed. When did you learned about your zanpakutou?" Urahara asked as they entered the store.

"Just now, I dreamt of it."

"Really? That's very good news, for just six days, you already released your zanpakutou." He said brightly, as he ordered Tessai to bring them a tea.

"But Urahara-san, when I finished on slaying the hollow, It felt like my zanpakutou was overflowing with spirit power, it felt heavy and somehow, it did made me a bit energetic and somewhat powerful."

"It seems that fire barrier that you made didn't just immobilize the hollow, but slowly absorbing the hollow's power and neutralizing it to transfer to you and to the zanpakutou." Urahara said confidently. "Oh well, Rangiku-san was going to the real world to make a report. Then, you can go with her as soon as she goes back to the soul society. I'm already arranging your permission to stay and train under the 10th division captain and vice-captain. I'm just waiting for the captain's response, because he will still submit your daily record to the commander-general, to see if you're strong enough to train and fight."

"Daily record?" she asked as she drank her tea.

"It contains your training development and your acquired skills. I just have to add something about your Zanpakutou before I can pass it to the 10th division captain," he said.

_Their standards were probably high_, she thought. She hoped that she will pass their expectations so she can go there and train harder, like everybody else is doing. And if she will pass, she will be under the 10th division and train with the captain and the lieutenant. _Wait, that division was rather familiar_, she thought abruptly. Kisuke Urahara was walking away towards the basement when Karin called him.

"Urahara-san, when you said 10th division captain, are you talking about Toushiro?" she asked suddenly.

"Exactly," he said as he turned around to face her. "Do you know him?"

"Kinda." She said uncomfortably as she followed him into the basement.

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Sorry if it was a bit short, but I will try to make the upcoming chapters longer. Did you like it?


	3. Good Bye, Real World

Chapter synopsis: Karin went to visit her family to say her good bye. Then after that, she met Rangiku Matsumoto, and went to Soul Society.

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach :P

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**Good bye, Real World.**

Karin was finished training this time and it was almost night. She was now sitting on the dusty ground and polishing her sealed zanpakutou. It was a really magnificent day indeed. First, she was already doing better and now she can use the shikai form of her zanpakutou, Shinkuootori. _I'm only one step away from soul society and I'm only one step away from saving my family_, she thought. She vowed to herself that when she gets there, she will train harder and better. Tomorrow was the last day of her training and her last day here in real world. So she decided to go back inside her body and pay her home a little visit. She went outside the store and walked slowly. She was observing her surrounding eagerly, as though she was memorizing its every feature. She hugged the night breeze that was enveloping all over her, for she thought bitterly that this maybe the last time she can feel the smell of the ocean through the cold and comfy breeze. She might stay longer there than she expected, for she predicted that the preparations were long and war will be extensive and rough. Her training helped her prepare physically, mentally and emotionally. But she couldn't help but get sad at the thought of leaving her family for the better.

She stopped in front of her house, and then she went inside without knocking. There, she saw Yuzu preparing food for her and her father. When Yuzu saw Karin, she ran into her and flung her arms around her. Karin felt a rush of affection to her sister. Yuzu was the girly girl of the two of them, and she was rather sensitive, so she tends to cry a lot.

"Karin-chan, I missed you!" She said, her voice broken. And she sniffed to suppress a sob. Karin couldn't help but smile and patted Yuzu's back.

"Me too,"

"Karin-chan! How's practice? Are you getting better?" Her father asked her slyly, as he hugged his two kids. Karin hesitated on answering because she might spill something.

"Yes," she said casually with a slight guilt. She couldn't bear lying to her family. But anyway, it's for the better, she thought. She and Yuzu broke apart. Yuzu pulled her to a seat on the table, and she hastily get a plate for her sister and so was her fork and spoon. The food smelled good and so was the rice. I will miss the food Yuzu was always preparing, she thought. Yuzu's a good cook and a good mother too. When their mother died, Yuzu became their new mother; she always does the chores and prepares the food; she will definitely miss her motherly figure. Then she saw her father, who was enthusiastically praising Yuzu's cooking. Even though her father was a little irresponsible and gave the worst and lamest advice, she loves him so much. She will definitely miss the time when he aims a flying kick to Ichigo, which he mostly dodges with ease. After she ate her meal, she stood up and looked at Yuzu and her father.

"I gotta go, so I wanted to say goodbye and…" she paused when she felt like tears were flowing down her eyes, but she held it back and laughed softly. "..and I'll be back soon. Don't worry Yuzu and father, I'll be fine." Then she waved goodbye at them and gazed at them once more. After that, she turned around and headed for the door. Yuzu followed her and seized her hand.

"When will you go back? You should tell us so I can prepare your favorite meal, Karin-chan." Yuzu said; her eyes were sparkly. Karin's eyes widened of surprise. Even she doesn't know when she will get back. But she needs to reassure them that she will be fine.

"I'll be back soon, and before I get back, I will fetch Ichi-nii from where he is and we'll go home together. Of course, I will not forget to bring home my soccer tro-!" She was cut off by Yuzu. Yuzu hugged her tightly and she was now sobbing. Karin felt guilty in making Yuzu cry like that.

"Be careful, Karin-chan." She whispered in her ear, Karin looked sad at first but at the end, she smiled.

"I'll promise, Good bye Yuzu, good bye dad." Then she walked out of the door and walked towards the street without turning back. Yuzu tried to ran after her but she was seized by her father on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Yuzu. She will be fine," Isshin reassured her daughter. She smiled and gave her father a hug.

Karin walked towards the store with a heavy heart. She couldn't stand seeing Yuzu in that state and the worse part is that she was the reason why Yuzu was crying. This time, she thought of backing away from the training and such. But she had already decided, and there's not turning back. She must stay strong for them. She knew well that her father and Yuzu put their whole trust to her, and she will keep her promise.

She climbed down the basement and there she saw few people gathered in front of a large screen. She walked towards the commotion and there she saw a curvy woman with breasts larger than Orihime's. Her strawberry blonde hair was long and wavy; she looked familiar, as though they had already met. The woman beamed at the sight of her.

"Ah, so this is Kurosaki Ichigo's sister, Karin. Am I right?" she asked her casually.

"Yeah," she said. The woman smiled at her and hugged her tightly that she can barely breathe.

"I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, 10th division lieutenant; I'm pleased to meet you. I have the feeling that we've met, am I correct? And I believed that you've met taichou?" she said enthusiastically and let go of Karin.

"Yeah, I've met him in a soccer game." She said quietly and Rangiku smiled slyly at her.

"Ah, now I remember. You're the one that Taichou was stalki—nevermind, hehe." She said as she patted her back, then she turned to Kisuke. "Urahara-san, can you give me a tea? That journey through the Senkai gate made me a bit exhausted."

"My, my, of course Rangiku-san! Tessai-san, prepare a chamomile tea for our guest." Urahara said as he motioned everyone to climb upstairs. Rangiku's phone rang that made everyone jump in surprise.

"A hollow spotted." Rangiku said seriously to Urahara. Then he turned to Karin.

"Karin-chan, go with Rangiku-san and finish the hollow as a part of your training." Karin nodded as they headed off towards the location of the hollow. When they got there a huge hallow was chasing a normal soul of a little boy, who was running into circles, crying. Rangiku unsheathed her sword and ran towards the hollow to stab it, but the hollow had strike her using its enormous talons. She was thrown back and had hit one of the trees.

"Rangiku-san!" Karin shouted as she went to help Rangiku to stand up on her feet. She stammered onto her feet and retrieved her katana from the ground.

"When I tried to go near the hollow, I felt weaker as though it was sucking out my spirit energy." She said seriously to Karin as she observed every move of the hollow. "Now, all you gonna do is place a fire barrier around it to nullify its ability to absorb reiatsu. Then when I go near it, I'll try to kill it using my katana." Karin nodded and unsheathed her sword. It was very hard to direct her zanpakutou to the hollow for it was following the boy's spirit. Then when she finally got the chance she called her zanpakutou.

"_Free your wings and burn the skies, __**Shinkuootori!**__"_

Her katana was suddenly on fire and as she pointed it to the hollow. Suddenly a barrier of fire had erupted around it, making it still and somewhat paralyzed. Karin saw Rangiku ran towards the Hollow to kill it completely. Karin looked horrified when the barrier suddenly vanished. When the hollow was about to grasp the child, Karin sprinted as fast as she could to seize the boy and ran away from the hollow. She held the boy around her arms to shield him from it. Then she squinted at the hollow to see Rangiku jumping towards it, ready to slice it into half. When the hollow vanished, Rangiku helped Karin and the boy stand up.

"Thanks Rangiku-san," Karin said as she sheathed her sword. Rangiku smiled at her and turn around to face the boy.

"I guess you need to go and have a soul burial," she said to the boy. The boy looked frightened at what she said. But she smiled and said,

"No, don't be afraid. After that, you will go to a certain place called Soul Society." The boy smiled at her. Rangiku unsheathed her sword and touched the head of the boy using

Its hilt and he suddenly disappeared into thin air, and a black butterfly had appeared out of nowhere. Rangiku turned back to Karin.

"Let's go back."

* * *

Karin and Rangiku went back to the Urahara store and was greeted by Ururu; she was all alone and sweeping the floor.

"Er, Ururu, where's everybody else?" Karin asked her.

"They're at the basement. Urahara-san wants you and Rangiku-san there." Ururu said meekly as she motioned Rangiku to move from her place, to clean the spot where she was originally standing. Rangiku and Karin went down to the basement to see Kisuke Urahara, Tessai, and Jinta standing in front of a sliding door, which she believed to be the gateway to Soul Society.

"Ah, there you are, Karin-chan." Urahara said as she motioned them to come closer. Karin gulped at the sight of the sliding door. _Could it be…?_

"Your permission to go to the Soul Society has been approved just now. And it seems that the commander-general was impressed to your development." Karin beamed at the news. She never did expect that the commander-general will be impressed by her fighting skills. Then her eye flickered between Urahara and the sliding door, and an idea had popped out of her mind.

"Hey, do you mean…?"

"Yes, yes, Karin-chan. Ain't that cool? Rangiku-san and you will now go to Soul Society and will be escorted by 2 members of the Kidou Corps and a Shigoku chou. Now if you mind…" He pointed his fan towards the sliding door. Karin felt as though her stomach was doing back flips. She couldn't believe it; she was going to Soul Society now. She was waiting for this the whole time! But, at this moment, she was going to leave the real world for a long time. Good thing she already bid good bye to her family and she was already prepared to forget her old care-free life.

Rangiku seized her shoulders, "Don't worry, Taichou and I will take care of you when we get there," she reassured her with a comforting smile spread across her beautiful face. Karin smiled and said her thanks to her. Then, they walked towards the sliding door and there she saw two men who resembled a ninja were standing before them with a black swallowtail butterfly that was fluttering about. Before they entered, she turned around to face Kisuke Urahara and the others.

"Thank you Urahara-san for everything, thank you Tessai-san for the wonderful teas and thanks Ururu and Jinta, its fun having trainings with you, good bye guys, I'll see you soon." Karin said as she beamed at them, and they responded with their own smiles.

"Good bye, Karin-chan. Have fun," Urahara said brightly.

"Thanks for appreciating my meals and the tea," Tessai assumed.

"Good luck," Ururu and Jinta said in chorus. Karin nodded and turn back to face the sliding door and they entered. When she heard the sliding door closed, she couldn't help but miss everything, even though she was just on her way to the Soul Society. They were running towards the other end as they were following the as what they called, Shigoku chou. As they get closer and closer to the other end, a familiar figure becomes clearer every step she made. When they left the passage way, Karin attention was caught by the surroundings; it's just the same as the real world, but it resembles ancient Japan. There are trees, and the wind was a bit cold and breezy. Her eyes wandered from the surroundings to a figure with a familiar spiky white hair that wore a white hoari over his black kimono. On his hoari emblazoned the number of his division; number 10.

"Toushiro?"

* * *

Whoa, I'm still revising chapter 4 and I'll promise that I will update soon, peace out! :D


	4. Reunion

Hello there! thanks for the people who reviewed my story! I really appreciate it!

**Chapter synopsis**: Hanatarou and Karin were chased by 10 drunken shinigamis and someone saved them? Who could it be...?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach, but I wish I do... :P

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**Reunion**

He spun around and saw a familiar girl with short, raven hair. She didn't change much since he first met her, but now she was sporting a shinigami outfit and her zanpakutou hanging on her back, just like his. The sight of her brought back sudden memories; a soccer ball, a beautiful sunset, a revelation, a dusty field, her injured leg, her determined eyes, Karin; it was a very short moment that left significant memories. There's something about her that stunned him that moment; maybe the fact that she was too tough and brave to be a girl. At that time, he was thoroughly impressed at her attitude. Even though she's rather stubborn and boyish, he knew she has a soft heart. He saw it when she eagerly knew his brother's whereabouts. At that moment he saw right through her; he felt the love she had for her brother. She looked so tough and determined, and now she looked tougher wearing shinigami clothes; all in all, it fitted her. Karin caught his gaze and they just stood there, staring at each other. It felt like ages before someone had interrupted them.

"Umm…Taichou? Hanatarou-kun is already here." Rangiku said, looking dumbfounded. Then a sickly looking shinigami approached them, he was just about as tall as them two.

"Did you call me, Hitsugaya-taichou?" Hanataro asked him meekly.

"Yeah, I need you to show Karin around Sereitei. Could you do that for us?" Toushiro asked him, looking as though he had just been hit by a soccer ball. Hanatarou nodded without hesitation. Then, he turned to Rangiku,

"Matsumoto, I need you to help me with the paperwork. Hanatarou, can you bring her back to the office as soon as you've finished showing her around?"

"I understood."

When Toushiro and Rangiku walked away, Hanatarou walked towards her. Holding out his hand, he said, "I'm Yamada Hanatarou 7th seat from the 4th division. I'm pleased to meet you," and they shook hands.

"I'm Kurosaki Karin," when she said her name, Hanatarou looked slightly surprised.

"Are you a relative of Ichigo-kun?"

"He's my bro, actually," Karin said uncomfortably. She wondered how famous his brother was, it seems like everybody knew him. Then they wander along the walled Sereitei. Every people she met were wearing a black kimonos and everything; she was clearly surrounded by skilled shinigamis. They roamed around the whole place and while they're walking, Hanatarou was telling her something about Seireitei, Rukongai and Gotei 13. He was busy talking to her that he didn't noticed a drunk-looking men, who was at least 10 was grouped in front of them; chatting. Then Hanatarou had bumped one of the grumpy looking men before she could warn him.

"What the hell are you doing, wimp?" said a middle aged man with a handle bar moustache. His companions sniggered at his comment. The man squinted at Hanatarou with a scowling face, "So you're that twerp from the 4th division eh?"

Karin's felt her insides boil; she couldn't stand the way he discriminated Hanatarou. Hanatarou looked scared and only said, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to,"

The man snorted and his friends laughed loud that made Karin clench her fist. "I don't why people with sorry butts like you ever got here, especially most of the people in your lame division." He said as he tried to kick Hanatarou with all his might. But before he could touch him, Karin already landed a blow at his enormous arms, which caught the attention of his companions. Hanatarou's jaw hung open at the sight of the wincing man.

"Idiot! How dare you discriminate him and the fourth division? Why the hell are you acting like you're the god here?" she shouted at him, her trembling fist pointed at the man, "And why the hell are you acting like giddy school girls?!" she said at the other men who was cackling at them. Hanatarou tried to calm her down by seizing her shoulders but she merely shrugged off. The man slowly toddled towards her and grabbed her collar fiercely that it almost ripped her kimono. She was lifted off her feet and she could smell the remnants of the sake that he had drank a while ago. She struggled at his hold, which made his grip on her tighter and tighter. She saw Hanatarou being cornered by his other friends, and when she saw an opening, she kicked his thigh hard, which made him let go of her. She grabbed Hanatarou and ran away from them as fast as she could.

Breathlessly, she looked over her shoulder and saw the men running after them, their zanpakutous were unsheathed and surprisingly the others were missing. To her horror, the other half of group was running towards them; they were cornered. She and Hanatarou stopped abruptly when the men had reached them. She was forced to unsheathe her sealed zanpakutou when someone tried to attack them. She was able to block some of their attacks and so was Hanatarou, but everytime he hit one of the opponents, their wounds were miraculously healing, which didn't help on overpowering them.

"What a wimpish move! Show your Zanpakutou!" One of the men cried as he tried to hit Karin; he was clearly provoking her. She can't show her zanpakutou, not in this inappropriate situation. She accidentally twisted her left ankle and she winced because of the pain, and one of the men took advantage of it; he managed to cut the flesh of her arm. She whimpered and seized her arm, and now Hanatarou was defenseless too for his Zanpakutou was already the size of a scalpel. Unfortunately his release of violent energy was dodged by a few of them, and some tumbled over; dizzy and hurt by the impact. The man who had just offended Hanatarou a while ago tried to cut her cheek and he succeeded.

"Karin-san!" Hanatarou said as he was knocked out by one of the men who survived his powerful blow. Karin touched the portion where the blade had run. She looked in horror at the sight of her bloody hand that she almost fainted. The man grabbed her again effortlessly and she saw that she managed to injure him a while ago. Again, she was lifted off her feet and she was now facing him, as if they were the same height. He grimaced at her and snarled.

"I'm impressed by your guts kid and I'm astounded that you were able to injure me slightly. But you were no match against us," He said conceitedly. Karin scowled at him,

"What a show-off," she muttered. The man shook her violently when he heard her grumble.

"What did you say? You loser brat--!"

"Put her down," A cold voice said from behind the man. She squinted at him and saw Toushiro pointing his katana on the man's enormous back. The man suddenly shook when he heard his voice and he put her down immediately.

"I'm sorry Hitsugaya-taichou I--!"

"Never touch her again, you basta—!"

"Taichou, I already called Orihime Inoue from her training to aid Karin and Hanatarou," Rangiku reported as Orihime bobbed along her wake. She looked shocked and dumbfounded when she saw an injured Karin stammering to her direction, holding her injured cheek as though it would stop the bleeding. Orihime ran towards Karin and healed her.

"Karin-chan, what are you doing here?" She asked her suddenly with a worried look in her eyes.

"It's a long story, Orihime-chan, I have to tell you later," Karin said rather breathlessly. Orihime nodded and hurriedly went to Hanatarou's direction, where he was lying unconscious. Karin touched her cheek and felt as though she was never injured. She didn't expect Orihime to have amazing powers such this. Then her eyes fell upon Toushiro and to the man, who was now kneeling before the captain.

"I'm sorry, I--"

"Apologize to them." He said coldly and the man went towards her direction and he fell on his knees.

"I'm sorry; I will not do it again!"

"It's nothing; I just don't want you to insult anyone here, especially me and my brother's friends." She said rather indignantly. Toushiro looked astounded and surprised at her response. He walked towards them.

"I will put you and your loser friends in a detention cell—!"

"No, let them go, he promised not to do it again," she said firmly and the man looked at her in awe. Toushiro was about to retort when she spoke.

"Promise me you'll never discriminate other people or else," she said to him and he looked somewhat terrified "…You'll gonna die in my hands."

"Yes, yes, I promise." The man stuttered. Toushiro looked at her as though she had gone mad, but he didn't object her decision.

"All right then, you are free to go. But I will have a word with Captain Zaraki about your inappropriate behavior." He said seriously. The man looked at them as though they wanted to kiss them of gratitude.

"Thank you for your consideration!" He said apologetically as he ran away with his half conscious friends. Toushiro turned at Karin.

"I can't believe you did that," he said to her rather coldly.

"Did what?"

"Let them go?" he said through gritted teeth. Karin let a low laugh at his expression which made him slightly angry and somewhat flabbergasted.

"It's just the right thing to do. Besides, if ever they will do that again, they'll gonna face my Shinkuootori and be toasted." She said confidently. Toushiro sighed heavily and turned to Rangiku and Orihime.

"Let's go back to the office, you can continue healing Hanatarou there," He said tightly and he led the way, leaving Karin, Rangiku, Orihime, and a half-conscious Hanatarou hurrying along his wake. When she tried to make a step using her left foot, a painful sensation had shot through her; as though she was electrified. Her twisted ankle was so painful that she stumbled upon her feet, facedown. She looked up and saw him standing in front of her; his hand held out, and she grabbed it for support. Then he placed her free arm around his shoulders and assisted her with walking. Rangiku and Orihime smiled at the sight of them as they aided Hanatarou together in walking.

"It was just your first day here, and you're causing a ruckus huh?" Toushiro said to her, smirking slightly. Karin didn't say anything and sniggered instead. "You're so like your brother."

"Was that an insult or what?" She asked rather crossly. Toushiro snorted a little.

"You're heavy."

* * *

**What do you think? haha. I'm still finishing the next chapter and I'll update as soon as I can. Please review, thanks! :D By the way, I wanna thank SmokeThief for reminding me with my errors, I already revised it and i also wanna give my thanks to Narutofan1091. Yes, I agree with you, her Zanpakutou really is cool :D**


	5. Untitled

**Chapter synopsis**: Karin made a new friend, and someone's annoyed because of it, haha, jealous much?

**Disclaimer**: Again, I do not own Bleach, but I wish I did. :P

**Author's note**: I didn't know what title I can give to this chapter, so i decided Untitled. haha.

* * *

**Untitled**

They quietly entered the room, and she noticed that his office was quite roomy and organized. The moon was clearly shown outside the window, which made the room more sophisticated than usual. The only flaw in the room was a rather disorganized pile of papers on top of Toushiro's desk. Toushiro had helped her sit on a rather large couch, and he went to his desk afterwards. Then, she saw Rangiku and Orihime entering the room without Hanatarou.

"Where's Hanatarou?" She asked them as soon as they sat beside her.

"He's already well and insisted on going back to his division headquarters by himself. By the way, he wanted to thank you and he was deeply sorry for not helping you," Rangiku said to her. Karin frowned at the news.

"He didn't have to say sorry. He actually helped a lot." She said looking disappointed.

"By the way Karin-chan, what are you doing here at the first place? And why are you wearing shinigami clothes? Have you become one?" Orihime asked her hastily as she began to heal her injuries again; her face was worried.

"I wanted to help Ichi-nii. I know all about it. I know all about the Arrancar and Aizen's true intentions (Toushiro had stopped sorting the papers when he heard Aizen's name). Then I realized that my family's in danger, everyone's in danger. So, I wanted to become a shinigami so I can protect them, or maybe help you guys even in the slightest bit." Karin said painfully. Whenever she was recounting these things, her inner misery becomes worse than usual. Rangiku extracted her arm to put it around Karin's shoulder. Orihime looked as though she was suppressing a sob, but she smiled instead.

"Don't worry Karin-chan! Whenever you need something don't hesitate to go to me or to Rukia-chan. We were currently training, but we can stop by to check on you. Just be careful and never forget to smile!" She said brightly as she managed to give Karin's hand a squeeze. "And I so do believe that Rangiku-san and Toushiro-kun will take a good care of you, right Rangiku-san, Toushiro-kun?" Rangiku nodded gently and Toushiro said nothing but resumed on his task.

"I will take that as a yes," Rangiku whispered to her.

"Matsumoto, deliver these papers to commander-general Yamamoto urgently. He needs to know the reports that we had when we last visited Karakura town." Toushiro said seriously as he handed a pile of papers to her. She grimaced at the sight of thick load of papers.

"Taichou, I'm very tired…" she said lazily at him.

"Stop whining Matsumoto!!" He bellowed at her. Then she lazily took the papers and swayed out of the door. Orihime stood up and followed her.

"Sorry Karin-chan, but I need to go. I still need to train. No," Orihime said, when Karin was about to stand up. "You should need to rest, I may have healed your wound and all, but you are still exhausted." When Karin was about retort, Toushiro spoke, who was barely visible behind the tall piles of paper.

"Inoue is right, you should have a break. You can start training tomorrow after you've restored all your energy." Then, Orihime waved at her and to Toushiro.

"Bye, take care of Karin!" Then she walked out of the room. Toushiro merely grunted and resumed on his duty. Karin sat there on the sofa, staring out of the window and thinking about many things. Her first day here at Soul Society was rather unfortunate. She had been chased by several drunken punks that almost beat the daylights out of her and Hanatarou. Good thing Toushiro had come or else she had already made a bigger fuss by releasing Shinkuootori. She never expected to see Ichi-nii's friends here. Like Orihime-chan, whom she thought was just an ordinary human but turned out to have cool healing powers. Then she heard Orihime-chan mentioned Rukia-chan a while ago. Could it be that she was a shinigami too? Then a question had popped out of her mind. She turned around to face Toushiro, who was still busy with his paperwork.

"Toushiro, Do you know where Ichi-nii's training?"

"He's not here in Soul Society," he said firmly, not looking at her direction. "He's with his other friends, training secretly."

Karin frowned at his response; Ichi-nii's not here after all. She had grown worried about him. Where is he? Is he safe? But her questions were not yet answered. Somehow, she found the bright side of all things. She trusted his brother with all her heart, so there was no reason to make her worry about him. He was stronger than her, and anyone else, and she found comfort from this fact. She then turned again to Toushiro's direction, which seemed to be writing a long report now.

"By the way, thanks, Toushiro."

Toushiro looked at her, with a straight face. "It's nothing." Then she turned around and lay down. After seconds, Toushiro spoke indignantly, "Hey! I think you should call me Hitsugaya-taichou! You're working under me now, and you already knew my true identity so you should call me now as your captain. Understood?" But Karin didn't respond.

"Kurosaki!" He bellowed from his place, but still, she ignored it. Then he marched towards the couch, his arms crossed. When he was about to shout at her, he noticed that she was curled up on her spot, her eyes closed. He was stunned by the look on her face; she looked way gentler asleep than awake. In fact, she looked like an angel. But he never did see her face like this when she was awake, maybe because she always screwing it up, so she looked like a tougher person than usual. He was like that for minutes, gazing at her tender face for no reason at all. There maybe is a reason, but he doesn't know yet. Then, he saw her shiver on her spot, which made her toes curl tighter. She was probably freezing by the wind. So he decided to close the windows and covered her with his knitted blanket, which he uses during chilly nights when he was over working. When he thought that she was already fine, he went back at his desk and started to write another report. But he couldn't think of what to write next; his mind was wandering off. He couldn't concentrate on what he's doing. His deep thinking had made him sleepy, and several minutes later, he fell asleep.

* * *

Rangiku went inside the office to give him a cup of tea, and there she saw Toushiro sleeping at his desk. It was morning and the sun was shining brightly at Soul Society. She went to check on him and found a half finished report. She looked surprised that he didn't use his blanket for the first time even though it was super chilly last night then she placed the tea beside him. She noticed that the windows were closed, so she decided to open it so the sunlight will enter the office. After opening the windows, noticed that Karin was sleeping on the couch peacefully and was covered by his blanket. She smiled at the sight of her. Toushiro was exceptionally selfish when it comes to his personal things, and she was surprised that he had let her use his favorite blanket. _There's something special about her_, she thought.

"Matsumoto," said Toushiro, who was awaken by the bright sunlight. "Have you delivered the reports to Commander-general Yamamoto?"

"Hai, Taichou!" She said as she gave him a lame salute. Then Toushiro choked on the tea when he saw half finished report. When he resumed on finishing his report, he noticed Rangiku's mysterious look at him.

"What?" He asked her with an annoyed expression and took a sip of his tea. She went near his desk.

"Taichou, do you like Karin-chan?"

He choked again and started to cough roughly, "Matsumoto, stop bombarding me with your pointless questions." Rangiku smiled slyly that made him raise his eyebrows.

"But Taichou, look at this; you helped her last night and you even let her have your blanket, which is strange of course. You don't want anyone to use your blanket, not even me, and you rather let me die of severe cold than lend me your blanket. You're unusually kind since last night; you like her."

"That's not it. I'm just being hospitable to our guest. So if you don't mind, you can wake her up and show her the training area." He said crossly as wrote the last words on his report. Rangiku shrugged and went to Karin's direction.

"Good morning, Karin-chan…" Rangiku said as she shook Karin's shoulder. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Rangiku beaming at her, and then the bright sunlight had temporarily blinded her.

"Sorry Rangiku-san, I overslept…."

"No, no, Karin-chan! You're just in time! Come with me, we're going to our training area,"

"Training area?" She asked as she stood up; stretching her arms. She noticed a blue knitted blanket lying on her feet and picked it up.

"Thanks for lending me a blanket, Rangiku-san," she said serenely as she folded it and placed it on the couch neatly. Rangiku laughed.

"Oh no, it wasn't me!" She said, trying to suppress her laugh. Karin looked dumbfounded at the sight of a laughing Rangiku.

"Then who did?"

Rangiku's gaze fell upon Toushiro, who was cleaning up his desk. When he caught sight of Rangiku, he swiftly grabbed his zanpakutou and went towards the door. He stopped suddenly.

"If anyone asks where I am, I'll be around the research center, checking out the latest findings." He said without looking at their direction, and walked away. Rangiku frowned at the door and turned around to face Karin.

"Let's get going then," she said as she grabbed Karin's wrist and went outside as well.

* * *

Karin and Rangiku were standing in front of a big dojo. And in front of the big dojo was a vast grassy field with beautiful flowers on the side. It looked like a big garden to her, and there were ponds beside the large dojo. Everything looked so beautiful and breath-taking.

"Let's go inside," Rangiku said as she led the way. She slid the door with her hand and poked her head inside to see if anyone was there. And she saw a young man who was sweeping the floor.

"There you are, Satoushi-kun!" She greeted him as he went near them. He was young man that was inches taller than Karin. He has a messy black hair and piercing purple eyes and he looked rather handsome.

"Good morning, fukutaichou," he greeted her comfortably. He smiled at the sight of Karin, "I've never seen you before, are you new here?"

" Kinda," she said casually.

"I see. By the way, I'm Souma Satoushi, 9th seat, 10th division, and you are….?"

"Kurosaki Karin," she said brightly and they shook hands. Rangiku slapped her forehead hard that made Karin and Satoushi jump in surprise.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. I have to deliver something to Unohana-taichou! By the way, can you take care of Karin first? You can assist her with her training and stuff, I'll be back soon!" Then she ran away from the training grounds, leaving Karin and Satoushi alone.

"So… what division are you anyway?" He asked her as he closed the dojo's door.

"Actually, I'm not from any division. I don't even belong here." She said light heartedly.

"Huh? What do you mean, 'you don't belong here'?" He asked as he sat on the grassy field. Karin followed and did the same way, and then she told everything.

"….then, I came here and temporarily adopted by your division."

"Wow… so you're not really a shinigami and you came here to train because of the…wow." Satoushi said blankly. Karin lied down the grass and stared at the sky. The sky was peaceful and it reminded her about her hometown and her family. She sighed heavily, and then Satoushi interrupted,

"Oh yeah, I forgot. I have some Onigiri here. We can eat some before we do the training stuff," he said gleefully as he revealed a container full of tasty-looking Onigiri. Karin sat up and picked a piece.

"Thanks," she said as she bit the half of the onigiri. "It's delicious, by the way!"

"Thanks, no one's appreciated my cooking for years…" He said, looking a bit flustered. Karin let out a chuckle. "By the way, what are you talking about a while ago? That thing you play?"

"Soccer?" She said as she bit down the last piece of her meal. "Haven't you heard of it?"

"I really can't remember. It sounds familiar but… anyway, how do you play it?" he asked.

"Well, you have this black and white ball that you kick….."

Toushiro was walking near the training grounds, his arms crossed. He was thinking about the King's seal and Aizen when he noticed two figures having an animated talk on the grassy field. Then he walked towards it and saw Karin laughing with Satoushi; it made him strangely annoyed. It took ages before the two of them realized that he was coming.

"Hitsugaya-taichou!" Satoushi said, looking alarmed and bowed before him.

"Toushiro!" Karin said, rather surprised. Toushiro looked irritated when he heard her.

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou." He said coldly. When Karin was about to retort he said, "What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be training at this time?"

"That's what I am going to do. But I got hungry and he offered me some of his food." She said indignantly. Satoushi looked alarmed because of her answer.

"My apologies, Hitsugaya-taichou."

Toushiro raised his eyebrows and turned away, leaving. Then he stopped when he heard her mutter something at Satoushi.

"Why are you so afraid of him? I mean, he's just an elementary student."

He clenched his fist and felt steam coming out of his ears. He was sick and tired of being mistaken as an elementary student. His sudden fury made him shout at the top of his lungs.

" I'M NOT AN ELEMENTARY STUDENT!!"

* * *

**What do you think? Haha, I thought I should put some comedy here. Then on the next few chapters, there's something about soccer ball, Hinamori, Aizen and Ichigo... Oh well, just wait for it. hehe, thanks for those who appreciated my story! I'm still doing chapter 6,but I'll update as soon as i can :D **


	6. Sunsets, Soccer ball,Flying Plum Tree

**Chapter Synopsis**: It's been 7 days since she went to Soul Society, she misses her family and suddenly her feelings for the 10th division captain had developed into something more? There are surprises that include a soccerball and Hinamori pays a visit to his office!! Waah, I'm bad at summary, haha.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach

**Author's note**: In the title Sunsets, soccerball, and Flying Plum Tree, the Flying Plum Tree came from Momo's Zanpakutou, Tobiume, which means Flying Plum Tree, (according to wiki), oh well, enjoy!

* * *

**Sunsets, Soccer ball, and Flying Plum Tree**

"You're getting strong, Karin!" Satuoshi remarked as he blocked her attack. Karin beamed as she ran sideways and aimed at his arm, but he dodged it and ran away to attack her with his kidou. "Art of Destruction # 33: Blue Fire, Crash Down!"

Then a jet of raging blue light was zooming towards her direction, and she jumped sideward to avoid it. "Thanks! I guess that 7 days of training wasn't for nothing at all," she said as she ran towards him and tried to hit him with her sword. He unsheathed his sword to block her attack and the sound of metal against metal echoed in their ears.

Yes, it had been seven days since she first step foot at Soul Society. Everything was going well, especially her trainings. Her skills at swordsmanship are getting better and so was her control with her Zanpakutou; she can maintain her fire barrier longer than she did at the first time. Then, she was currently residing at the 10th division's office. Toushiro provided her own futon, and he let her have his blanket as long as she wanted. But to repay his unusual kindness, she was appointed to maintain the office clean at all times and guard it at night, whenever Toushiro and Rangiku was out. But on those seven days, she never saw Ichigo at least once. She kept on wondering where the hell he was these days, and she hoped that he will pay a visit Soul Society sometime, but she was anxious of whether he will be happy or not when he sees her.

"Let's take a rest for a while," Satoushi said as he sheathed his sword, "We've been training for three straight hours." Karin nodded and sheathed her sword as well. They sat down the grassy field, and they shared his boxed meal. They ate peacefully when Satoushi suddenly spoke, "By the way, any news about your brother?"

"Nothing at all, but you know," she said as she bit down the last half of her rice ball. "I'm really worried about his reaction when he sees me here, wielding my own zanpakutou, sacrificing my life, leaving Yuzu and father…"

"Don't worry about that, I'm sure he will understand you. He's your brother anyway," he reassured her as he stood up. "By the way, I'm going to check on the injured people from the 10th division, wanna come?"

"Thanks, but I wanna stay here." She said and she waved goodbye to him. She lay down the grass and stared at the sky. It was nearly Sunset and the sky was turning crimson. She remembered that day when they first met, it was almost sunset also. That time when she saw him, he looked so cold and scary. But even though he was like that, she can't get him out of her mind and she occasionally dreamt of him. She didn't know why he was the first thing that comes into her mind when she was afraid; and her thoughts of him calmed her fears. That time when he was playing with her team was so significant that she felt everything was in slow motion. Is she in love?

"Never," she whispered at herself. She shouldn't be in love, especially this time. She should be more focused in getting stronger than minding this pointless feeling. She will not set her priorities aside for this love thingy. It's not the only reason she don't want to fall in love, she was also scared of breaking her heart. Besides, she was too young to think about these things, so she was fighting this feeling as best as she can do.

She decided to climb up to the roof of the dojo, where the sunset has a greater view. There, she stood, awestruck because the scenery was breath-taking. Everything was beautiful, she felt as though she was in a paradise. The sight of the sun setting made her worries fade, and she sat down light-heartedly, watching a living landscape that she only had a chance to see on Art Museums during school excursions. She turned around when she sensed a familiar reiatsu just behind her back.

"Toushiro!" She said, looking surprised and flustered. He was standing behind her, looking quite annoyed.

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou," he mumbled crossly that made her scowl at him. "By the way, what are you doing here? It seems that you were spacing out a while ago,"

"I… nothing," she lied at him, but he raised his eyebrows at her; she was definitely bad at lying sometimes. He sat beside her and looked up at the crimson sky.

"You miss your family, am I right?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. She assumed that he had a sharp intuition, but good thing he never thought of her thinking about him. "I miss them a lot. It hurts sometimes to be away from them. I miss the times when we go to the soccer field and play whole day I also miss the school. I miss Yuzu and father. But then, it's my decision anyway, being away from them to be stronger so I can protect them. So whenever I get sad, I go here and watch the sun as it sets. Whenever I see the sunset, I feel like I was there with them, I feel like I'm home with them," she said sadly. Suddenly, Toushiro stood up and said,

"Come with me."

Karin was surprised and confused by his words.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he grabbed her wrist and used shunpou to run towards the west of Seireitei. It was very breezy and the sun was already gone, so it was getting dark that time. Then they landed on a roof of a well-lit quarter, and they jumped down to see a store full of merchandise that you wouldn't expect a shinigami will own. For short, it was a store filled with things from the real world. She couldn't believe she was seeing, she felt as though she was in heaven. She turned around to face Toushiro, who was leaning on the wall of another building, his arms crossed.

"But why… why did you think of taking me here?" She asked gladly, but a little dumbfounded. Toushiro let out a sigh and said,

"It's better than see you sulk all the time, whining about missing your own world." He said bitterly as he entered the small store. Karin glowered behind his back and grudgingly followed him inside the store.

They were greeted by an old shinigami wearing a jester hat. His bizarre appearance gave her the urge to laugh, but she suppressed the stupid thought and went to the corner where many accessories were gathered. There were hair clips, make ups and handkerchiefs. There were also clothes that normal people use everyday that hung on the side and was labeled as 'costumes'. Then she went over the food counter, and there she saw a row of onigiris sealed in foil, and boxes of coffee with different flavors. There were also canned goods on the upper shelf and so was several instant ramen that was labeled, 'best-sellers'. And the far corner of the store had attracted Karin's attention the most; there was a soccer ball that was displayed there, good and new. She desperately grabbed the ball and examined it. She missed playing soccer, so she wanted this so badly. But she frowned at the thought; she doesn't even have shinigami money at the first place. She sighed and turned back to leave. When she was about to walk out of the store, she heard Toushiro talking to the store owner.

"……..I'll take it," he said seriously.

"It will be around 200, you want to wrap it?" The store owner asked.

"No thanks," Toushiro said as he handed out his money and went out of the store, clutching the ball by his arms. Karin stood there, surprised; she never expected him to buy her the soccer ball. He threw it to her and she gingerly caught it. She couldn't believe everything that was happening now, but she didn't suspect further.

"By the way, thanks a lot." She said brightly at him, but didn't say anything, and walked away instead.

"Hey Toushiro, can we play soccer together sometime?" She asked as she followed him.

"Who knows?" he said quietly. There was a long awkward silence between them when Toushiro had finally spoke, "By the way, how's trainings with Souma?"

"Oh, you mean Satoushi? Well, he's cool, we always share lunch and we talk about many things. He's very interested in the real world, so we get along well, he's also a good sparring partner," she said vaguely. Toushiro looked sour when she heard her answer. "Why did you ask?"

"It's nothing," he said quietly, but a bit flustered.

"Hey Toushiro, do you know when will Ichi-nii's gonna go here?" She asked, looking hopeful for some news about his brother, who wasn't visiting Soul Society since she went here.

"No, but I heard he's doing fine. Don't worry about him; he's safe with his vizard friends."

"Vizard?" she asked, flummoxed. Toushiro looked at her with a bemused expression in his face.

"Seriously, you don't know them?" He asked her with utter disbelief. "But, I'm quite uncertain if I'm the right person to tell this to you," Karin raised her eyebrows and said,

"Of course I need to know it; I'm his sister anyway…" She said rather coldly. She thought that this maybe an important matter for Toushiro to think twice of telling this to her; she was definitely missing something. Toushiro hesitated at telling her at first, but he spoke finally.

"Vizards are shinigamis who acquired hollow powers in the right or wrong circumstances. They're the complete opposites of the Arrancar, who acquired shinigami powers by taking off their masks. Your brother is a vizard, so he was currently training under his fellow vizards so he can control his inner hollow."

Karin felt drained by this sudden revelation. This was the reason why he was a month absent at school and a month far away from home. He was after all, hiding a hollow inside him, and he was training hard to control it. She didn't know if she was going to be relieved by the news. They resumed on walking and stopped in front of his office. They noticed that the lights were on and there are several people inside. When they enter, Toushiro stopped abruptly. Karin looked over his shoulders and saw Rangiku standing beside two big shinigamis, and between them stood a girl who was a bit taller than her; her purple hair tied in a bun.

"Shirou-chan…" she said brightly at Toushiro as she walked towards him.

"Hinamori, what are you doing here?" He asked her, looking surprised and bemused.

"I came to check if you are fine," she said quietly as she flung her arms around him and gave him a squeeze. Karin felt as though the sky had fallen over her; she was saddened by what she saw.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Toushiro said as they broke off their embrace and sat on his seat. "How are you anyway?"

"I'm fine," she said quietly. Toushiro raised her eyebrows,

"You don't look fine," he said seriously at her that made her gasp. "You should need to sleep more, come on! Look at you; you look like a limp asparagus. You should watch yourself always and eat vegetables and fruits…"

"I'm sorry Shirou-chan," she said abruptly, her eyes down. He looked at her with a surprised expression in his face.

"You shouldn't be."

Karin went inside quietly, but no one seemed to notice her passing. She felt the sudden tension inside the room, and everyone seemed so quiet, as though she was watching a silent movie. She wondered why she can't stand watching Hinamori and Toushiro gazing at each other; she felt a sudden fury inside her. To suppress her unusual anger, she pretended on sweeping the floor; her back facing them, so she was facing no one but the window.

"Shirou-chan, are you going to Hueco Mundo?" Hinamori asked him suddenly. He was perplexed by her question. "If you are going, please save Aizen-taichou!" She said with a broken voice; she was sobbing. Hitsugaya and the others looked alarmed by this sudden request. "Please, I'm begging you to save Aizen-taichou," Karin was shaken by what she said. That's the most ridiculous thing a person can ask, Aizen was supposed to be their enemy, and she wanted him to be saved. How come?

"But-- It can't be, he was our enemy," Toushiro said bitterly. Hinamori went near him and suddenly held his hands with hers.

"But, Ichimaru-taichou influenced him! Please, just make him realize!" She said pleadingly, tears falling down her eyes. Toushiro felt sudden anger and stood up, pulling away his hands from her grasp.

"Your Aizen-taichou wasn't under Ichimaru's influence, Hinamori. In fact, he's the one who's manipulating them; he is the mastermind!" He said with contempt in his voice. Hinamori looked at him, teary-eyed.

"No way! Aizen-taichou's a good person; he's very kind and understanding. He must be under Ichimaru-taichou's spell or something. Aizen-taichou will never do such a thing,"

Toushiro felt his insides boil with fury. When will she realize that Aizen's the one responsible for all the terrible things that had happened recently?

"Wake up, Hinamori! The Aizen you know never existed; he was fooling us from the very start!" He said furiously, his fists clenching, "Why are you so attached to him? He almost tried to wipe you out of this world!"

Hinamori looked shocked by his sudden anger. She went near him and gripped his shoulders, " Shirou-chan, how could you……?"

Then the two shinigamis held her by her arms. She struggled wildly from their hold but they're too strong. Then, they injected her something that made her limp and still. Toushiro and Rangiku's face was rather pallid because of what happened to Hinamori. Karin looked surprised and utterly confused.

"Our deepest apologies, Hitsugaya-taichou," said one of the shinigamis that were holding her, and they strode off the office. For minutes, Karin stood there, her eyes flickering between Rangiku and Toushiro. Rangiku was leaning on the wall, looking both alarmed and disappointed, and Toushiro stood there, his head bent down and his fist clenching. There's this strange atmosphere in the area that made her stomach wrung and her fingers tremble, she wanted to break the tension and know what really happened, but she couldn't find words to say. Suddenly, out of anger, Toushiro punched the wall hard and the blow had echoed all over the room, which made Rangiku and Karin jumped out of surprise.

"Damn it, why the hell was she worshipping that bastard? She, she was making a fool out of herself." He said through gritted teeth, his eyes were burning of fury and his fist was bleeding. Karin looked at him, her eyes wide; she never expected Toushiro to lose control like this.

"Taichou, you need to calm down," Rangiku said quietly as she took a step toward him. But he raised his bleeding hand to stop her from going near him.

"Sorry Matsumoto, but I need to be alone," he said bitterly as he walked out of his office.

Karin tried to follow him but she was seized by Rangiku.

"Let him go, he needs some fresh air," she said kindly to her. Karin looked disappointed and said,

"What was that all about? That Hinamori girl…"

"Taichou grew up with Hinamori-chan, so he grew up being overprotective of her as well. He was pained to see her suffer like that, so he vowed that he will kill anyone that will harm her," Rangiku said serenely.

"I see…" Karin said gloomily, her eyes fixed at her feet. Suddenly, she felt miserable and weak. "But why did she want Aizen to be saved? He's our enemy,"

"Hinamori was the vice-captain of the 5th division, so she was under Aizen. She always idolized him and she was very loyal to him. Aizen was kind to her also, but his kindness was just for a show. He even used Hinamori to kill taichou, and he almost killed her intentionally. But, after all those terrible things, she's still believed that he was a kind man, and was just controlled by Gin. And that's why taichou's very angry, and he vowed to avenge Hinamori by killing Aizen, for making her suffer and making her believe his intentions were clean."

"So she was devoted to a man who used her, and almost killed her…"

"Exactly, and that made things for taichou worse," Rangiku said gloomily. Karin felt a rush of pity to Hinamori for some reason. After all the things Aizen did to her and her friends, she was still devoted to him and she doubted when she will see the truth. But somehow, Karin felt a little jealous of Toushiro's affection to her, which made her sad and guilty. She shook her head frantically; she shouldn't be jealous. Why the hell she should feel this, she was nothing for him after all.

"Karin-chan," Rangiku called her, she looked up at her

"I know it is too early for me to say this to you, but--" she stopped and gripped her shoulders, "please don't fall for someone who's gonna leave you without saying goodbye, or someone who's gonna choose something wrong over you. Choose someone who will protect you with all their life and will never leave you through ups and downs."

Karin was startled by her advice; she was suddenly tensed and confused. "I'll remember that, Rangiku-san. But, why are you saying this?"

Rangiku half-smiled and said, "I just remembered someone..."

* * *

**I'm still doing the the next chapter!! But I will update soon! And Ichigo will make an appearance... and also Aizen!! Okay that's enough for now, and thanks to those who read my story, hope you're enjoying it and Peace Out!!**


	7. Surprise Visits

Hi everyone. Oh, I'm very sorry for the veeeeryyyyy late update. It's because of a thing called school that kept me away from my writing. Anyway, here you go, hope you like it.

P.S. Guess who's making a special guesting? Ichigo and Aizen!

* * *

**Surprise Visits**

Karin had just waked up from her dreamless sleep. She stood there and lazily stretched her arms and folded the blanket gingerly and placed it on the couch. As she was cleaning the place, she noticed the blood stain on the wall. She remembered everything that had happened last night, which made her strangely lonely. When she thought everything in the room was already clean, she picked up the soccer ball Toushiro had bought for her and walked out of the office. She felt remorse of the fact that she was jealous of his affection to Hinamori, and she vowed that she will ignore anything she felt for him and act like she never admired him most.

She strode off to the training grounds to meet Satoushi. She wanted to teach him soccer, so they can play sometimes. When she got there, she didn't sensed Satoushi's reiatsu but another person's. She looked up at the roof of the Dojo and she saw Toushiro sitting there, and he seemed to be thinking about something. Could it be Hinamori?

"Hey Toushiro!" She called him from her place and he looked down.

"What do you want?"

"Have you seen Satoushi?"

"He can't come here, he have something to do in the headquarters," he said quietly as he jumped off the roof and walk away, ignoring Karin as he pass by her. He stopped abruptly when he heard her spoke,

"Hey, do you want to play soccer?" She asked him brightly, seizing the ball by her feet. But he continued on his pacing as if he didn't hear her. She grunted loudly and kicked the ball hard towards him. But he did a back flip and kicked the ball towards her direction, just like he did when she kicked the ball towards him at the real world, then he marched away from her silently.

"Are you still worried about her?"

Toushiro stopped on his tracks and said, "It's none of your business," which made her frown.

"Look, if you sulk all day, nothing will happen to you," she said as she made the ball roll towards him. "You should trust her, she will accept the truth someday, and it just takes time. Why don't you do something that will make you feel better?"

Toushiro faced her and kicked the ball towards her and she blocked it with her foot. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

They played a little game of soccer at the grassy grounds. They used boxes as their goals and they ran around the training grounds like they did at the real world, well, except that it was just the two of them. Karin was running towards the goal and her eyes were focused on the ball, she didn't notice that Toushiro was standing in front of her, ready to steal the ball. She accidentally bumped into him and she fell on top of him. There, they rested and their faces were inches away from each other. Karin felt his hot breath brushed her skin that made her hair stood on its ends. Toushiro stared at her face, and he was battling the urge to kiss her. They both stood up, both pink in the face, and Karin picked the ball up and sat down the grass. Toushiro sat down beside her, looking flustered and flushed.

"Thanks, soccer did made me feel better," he said quietly at her and she beamed at him.

"No problem." She said casually. "Whenever I feel bad, I always play soccer. So I thought it might help you too."

"Yeah, it did. I should have trusted her and be patient," he said regretfully.

"Yeah, and try not to screw up your face. It's scary, and I think it's the reason why she cried last night; you freaked her out," she said in an ironically reproachful tone. Toushiro scowled at him.

"Shut up," he said bitterly and Karin laughed out loud.

"See? That's why many thought you're a gangster from an elementary--!!"

"KUROSAKI!" He shouted as he chased after her. They ran around in circles at the open space, and Toushiro noticed her smiling face. Well, to tell the truth, it's not soccer that made him feel better, but the sight of her smiling face. He wished he would stay like this forever, being with her was better than anything else. But just then, this short-lived heaven was cut-off by a single ring of his phone. He stopped on his tracks and grudgingly answered the phone.

"Hello?" He said bitterly and he heard Rangiku over the line,

"Taichou! Commander- General Yamomoto has organized a meeting with the captains now. You should be there, urgent!"

"Okay, I'm in," he said firmly and he jumped over the roof of the dojo. Karin noticed him leaving.

"Where are you going, Toushiro?" She asked loudly. He stopped and looked over his shoulder to see her standing, her arms crossed.

"I'm sorry, but we have an emergency meeting." He said seriously. "Take care," and he used shunpo to leave that Karin didn't notice him make a single step. Karin was surprised by what he said that her face turned red. She stood there, looking as though she was paralyzed, but in the inside, she was dancing the conga because of sudden happiness. But, she at the corner of her mind, she thought that she betrayed her own words. She promised herself that she will not fall in love, and focus first on her priorities. She walked quietly back to the 10th division headquarters. She was in deep thought that she didn't notice someone walking towards her direction, and she bumped against a familiar man.

" I'm very sorry," she said quietly as she looked up to see his face. She was shocked to see an orange-haired boy with the same expression as hers.

"K-Karin?" Ichigo said as though he wasn't sure of he was seeing, Karin didn't know what to do, what to say. She was so happy to see his brother safe but scared of the fact that he might get angry of her.

"Ichi-nii," she said nervously. Ichigo's eyes went wide as she talked; she was really his sister.

"What are you doing here?" He croaked quietly, he didn't know what he will do. He was even shocked of the fact that his normal, boyish, soccer playing sister was wearing shinigami clothes, and was in Soul Society, "What are you doing here……..?"

"I.. Ichi-nii… I wanna help," she said firmly, gaining some confidence.

"Help what? You don't know what you're doing," he said coldly, now that he already realized what's happening.

"I know everything, Ichi-nii! That's why I am here, I wanna protect our family!" She said as she gripped his sleeve. He frowned.

"Protect? What do you think I'm doing, playing around?" He said ironically as he shrugged off from her grip. "Karin, you're too young to go and fight here. GO HOME!" Ichigo's eyes were slits when he gripped her arm and dragged her from the headquarters. She felt tears fell down her cheek and she felt reluctant at the fact that she cried a lot since she knew everything. But she shouldn't let her brother ruin her plans, so she kicked him hard on the back that made him swear in pain.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Ichigo shouted at her. Karin held out her smallest finger and stared at him.

"If anything goes wrong, I will go back home. I promise," she said, her eyes focused on his. Ichigo hesitated at first and sighed.

"Oh damn. You're being sure about this?" He asked her casually as he folded his arms. Karin snorted of fury; his brother didn't seem to bother the logic of her being here.

"What do you think I'm here for? To play soccer with the shinigami people?!" she said loudly at him. Ichigo frowned at her that made her flustered. So she breathed heavily and talked as calmly as possible, "Ichi-nii, remember this: I will go back to our house if I made anything fussy around here. You get me?"

"All right," he said bitterly as he entwined his smallest finger with hers. Karin was very happy that his brother permitted her to stay. But she was a little uncertain of her promise. She may do something wrong, and she will go back and forget about being a shinigami. "Oh I have to leave, I promised Hirako that I will go back early," he said as he turned around and walked away. Ichigo stopped and stood rigid when he felt Karin embrace him tight.

"Thank you, you understand me," she said softly. Ichigo smiled.

"It can't be avoided. I'm your brother."

* * *

Karin was training alone at the dojo. She was practicing her skills at swordsmanship when she heard people talking outside. She slid the door open and saw two figures standing at the grassy field. She was shocked when she saw Momo Hinamori with a tall man with brown hair, who wore a white kimono; an opposite of a shinigami. _He was really familiar_, she thought.

"Aizen-taichou…" Momo mumbled as she hugged him tightly.

"Hinamori; we are going to a very beautiful place, where you will be treated greater than a shinigami." He said with a smirk on his face. He swung his hand on open space and door like portal had appeared out of nowhere. Karin remembered something. She saw Ikkaku fought someone who wore the same kind of clothing and used the same kind of portal. He has enormous powers, and they seem to transform when he called his zanpakutou. Could he be…..?

"…………..don't worry… your Aizen-Taichou is fine, everything will be fine when we go to our kingdom." He said calmly. Karin felt her heart skip a beat when she heard his name. Then she ran as fast as she could to stop Momo from going with Aizen, unsheathing her sword as she ran.

"Hinamori-SAN get away from him!" She yelled at them. Aizen saw her and he smiled at her as Momo held him tighter.

"Don't tell Hitsugaya." He said slyly as he conjured a dark red light from his hand. Karin backed away and awakened her Zanpakutou. When she was about to attack, the cero hit her badly and she hit the wall, breaking her back, as she lied unconscious on the ground.

* * *

_Oh, Is it okay? haha. I'm very uncertain If I made this chapter good. But anyway, I working on the next chapter. I promise I will update sooner. Peace Out!_

_But I will give you another spoiler. Toushiro will go to Las Noches and Karin will be imprisoned!!_

* * *


	8. Good Bye, Seireitei

Hi there! this is chapter 8.1, Then I already updated chapter 8.2! yay!

* * *

**Goodbye, Seireitei**

_chapter 8.1_

"Lost in the bet"

She woke up feeling heavy than usual. She found herself lying on a clean bed with a white blanket covering her. She noticed bandages wrapped around her body. She sat up and she felt sudden pain shot through her head. Then someone had hugged her tightly that made Karin wince in pain.

"Thank goodness you're fine!" Orihime said softly. Karin looked around the dim-lit room and saw bars infront of her; she was in jail.

"What am I doing here?" She croaked nervously. Then Rukia showed up, carrying a bento on her free hand and scrolls on the other.

"Commander-General Yamamoto ordered you to be temporarily detained here." Rukia said seriously as she sat beside Karin's bed. Orihime suppressed a cry when she heard her. Karin looked rather disappointed of the news.

"Sereitei is getting a little paranoid these days. I really dunno why. So I think this is the best way to prevent you from being captured or following them to Las Noches. Or maybe they thought that you let them go."

"What? That's silly." Karin said coldly.

"I know. But we can't avoid it. It's the commander-general's orders." Rukia said casually as she offered Karin onigiri, which she gladly accepted because her tummy was rumbling at the moment. "By the way, what are you doing outdoors that night?"

"That night? That was just yesterday." Karin said in an absurd way. Rukia and Orihime looked at each other and that's when she realized that she was missing something.

"Actually, this is the fourth day since the incident. You've been unconscious since then." Orihime said with a worried face. Karin blinked of surprise. _So it was a very serious injury at all_, she thought. Then someone had popped out of her mind.

"Where was Toushiro anyway?" She asked shyly to them, she liked to ask if he ever came to visit her unconscious self, but they might suspect something.

"They went to Las Noches to bring Hinamori back," Rukia said seriously as she folded Karin's blanket. Karin looked alarmed and her heart startred to beat faster that usual. She grew worried of him. But somehow she felt a little gloomy of the fact that he was there, saving Momo, instead of sitting beside her sickbed.

"It's a free world anyway," she mumbled and sighed. Orihime and Rukia heard her.

"I'm sorry?" Rukia said a though she didn't heard her clearly.

"No, it's nothing!" Karin lied uncomfortably, waving her hands in a frantic way to suspend the subject. Rukia shrugged and went back on cleaning her cell.

"So, ugh… do you have any news about them?" Karin asked unnervingly.

"Not really, Toushiro- kun and Rangiku-san disobeyed the commander-general. So they went there hiding their reiatsu."

"I see…" Karin said gloomily. Then someone had entered the cell. He was a tall man with a red hair. He has tribal tattoos on his visage that made him a little odd-looking. He looked familiar, she thought. Oh yeah, he came to visit our house once.

"Renji!" Rukia greeted him in surprise. "What happened?"

"Commander-general agreed. She can go out tomorrow."

"That's very good news, isn't it?" Orihime said to them, with a big smile on her face. Karin smiled and rejoiced, but there's something that bothered her: the promise she gave to her brother. She made a big trouble; does that mean I will go home?

"I think I should tell Kurosaki-kun about this," Orihime said as she offered some food to Renji.

"Did he know everything?" Karin asked, her heart pounding.

"Well, yeah, except that you'll be going back in training tomorrow," Renji said casually before he swallowed the whole onigiri with his mouth.

"Oh… how did he react?"

"Well, he was absolutely angry and Hirako let it slip that he became really unfocused in training."

Karin frowned at the news; she made her brother worried. This was the worst thing that ever happened to her. She will face the terrible truth of going home. She made a promise, and she will not break it. It was the end of her dream; the dream of protecting her family.

"Kuchiki-san," she mumbled quietly.

"Yes?" Rukia asked as she turned around to face her.

"I will go back home."

* * *

_Chapter 8.2_

" Forget About Me"

"What? Are you sure?" Rukia asked her with an absurd-looking face, as though she heard a very nasty joke.

Karin thought hard for the minute. Anyway, once she said it, there's no turning back. "Yeah, you heard me right; I'm going home, tomorrow."

Orihime gasped at her. "No! You can't do that."

"Yeah, I can. I made a bet with Ichi-nii. I lost; I have to keep my promise."

"But…."

Karin smiled to lessen the pressure and sadness. "I guess being a shinigami is not really for me." She frowned when she saw Orihime and Rukia's faces. "What?"

"It's that we're going to miss you here, Karin-chan," Orihime said tearfully.

"That's silly! When everything's fine, we're going to see each other again, Inoue-san. I trust my brother with all my life. He will, I know he will save us."

Karin said with all her might, feeling the greatest admiration for her brother. Orihime blushed at this compliment and as Rukia smirked.

"I gotta get going. I'm planning to have a talk with Renji. Anyways, the guards are coming, let's go Inoue," Rukia said as she stood up and slid the solid bars. Orihime gave her a sad look but she smiled afterwards.

"Sweet dreams, Karin. Be strong."

When Rukia and Orihime was out of sight, the shinigami guards slid the bars close and bound it with a kidou. Karin lied down and curled up like a cat because of the cold and misty wind from outside. She wrapped herself with the thin blanket and closed her eyes_. Tomorrow, I'm leaving,_ she thought.

_After that, I'll forget about Seireitei._

_I'll forget about my Zanpakutou._

_I'll pretend that shinigamis don't exist._

_I hope they'll forget about me._

_So I'll forget about him._

* * *

"Good morning, athlete," said a voice from beside her. She sat up and winced as the sunlight temporarily blinded her. She turned sideways and her half-opened eyes saw a familiar figure beside her, carrying a delicious-looking breakfast.

"Satoushi, what are you doing here?" She asked as she yawned aloud, causing him to laugh.

"I wanna visit you. Since this will be your last day here…" He mumbled quietly as he stood up. "Anyway, here you go. Fatten up and prepare your things!"

Karin was surprised of him. As she ate her yummy breakfast, there's this uncomfortable silence between them. She guessed this will be the time to unload things on him. But it's him who spoke first.

"Karin-san, why did you choose to leave? You can ask for a second chance, and it's not your fault." He asked her with a worried face. He sat beside her bed, and he was looking at his feet.

"I... It was my fault, if I didn't let my guard down, then—!"

"It was never your fault, I know that. It's Aizen anyway." He shouted at her. Karin was surprised and looked away from him. He fell silent and looked guilty of what he did. "Sorry I raised my voice," he said in remorse. He stood up to sit beside her and hold her hand. "It's just that you're hiding something from everyone. There's more than the encounter that keeps you from staying here."

She hesitated and said, "What are you saying…?"

"You like him, don't you? And you think it's wrong for you to fall at this time. Not to mention you're getting a little 'jealy' over Hinamori."

Karin blushed like she never blushed before; she was totally bewildered and embarrassed. "Am I that obvious??" she whispered to him.

He smiled faintly. "Not much. Maybe I have this ability to read minds that's all."

She smiled nervously. "I guess you're pretty special, huh? "

"Because I can read minds?"

She shook her head.

"But because you are a great friend. I may not the type of person to say this but, you really are."

He smiled at him, and she smiled back.

"Thanks, Karin."

"I should be the one saying that."

* * *

Karin, Satoushi, Renji and Rukia were standing in front of a large gate, which is the gate towards the real world.

"Here we are; we're going back to your town. How do you feel?" Renji asked Karin as he fixed his newly-purchased sunglasses on his forehead.

Karin took a deep breath.

"I'm good, excited and ugh…a little nervous."

Rukia walked towards her and placed her hand on Karin's shoulder.

"Do you wanna say your last goodbyes to your friends?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, half smiling. She turned around to face Satoushi, looking less than glad to see her leave. She walked towards him and gave him a nervous smile.

"I guess this is it. Goodbye, Satoushi. You've been a great pal."

Then suddenly, she felt his arms wrapping around her. He hugged her tightly, as if he didn't wanna let go. After seconds, he broke free. Karin was sure he saw his eyes flicker with tears.

"Good luck out there," he said weakly. She nodded and hand him her soccer ball.

"Can I leave this to you? Just in case you feel bored and lonely, you can play with it."

"Thanks, go on now. Your family waits for you." She nodded for the second time and turn back to face the gate. As she was following Rukia and Renji's lead, she heard Satoushi speak.

"Karin," he called out her name. She looked on her shoulder to face him.

"Yes?"

"Do you have anything to say to Hitsugayataichou?"

She flinched at the sound of his name.

_I almost forgot about him._

_What should I say to him?_

"Tell my thanks for letting me use his blanket." She said with a fake smile. He nodded with enthusiasm. Then she looked far away, she gave her last look on the world full of mystery. Then she turned away, took a deep breath as the gate closes slowly behind her.

* * *

Hmm... what do you think of Toushiro's feelings when he found out about this? XDXD

* * *


	9. If I never see your face again

HaiHai! I'm here with the latest chapter!

* * *

**"If I never see your face again"**

The sandy atmosphere of Hueco Mundo clouded his mind. He was lying facedown holding his zanpakutou. He felt blood rush down his face; he was beaten. The Arrancar, specifically one of Halibel's fraccion, consumed his spirit power and so was Rangiku's. There, at the far side of the desert, lay the half-conscious Rangiku.

"Taichou…" She croaked weakly. She tried to stand up, but her limbs were aching and too helpless. She then decided to crawl towards him, her whole body scraping against the sand. She left a trail of blood from where she once collapsed. When she reached him, she tried to wake him up.

"Taichou…"

But he didn't respond.

"Taichou…Let's go back…!" She shouted with all her might, but he remained unconscious, showing no evidence of response. Rangiku's distorted hair fell upon her face, covering bloody visage as she cried silently.

_Toushiro._

_Be strong._

_You can do it._

Hours have passed when two figures walked toward their direction, preparing to aid them. When they got there, the woman with gracefully braided hair kneeled before them.

"Hanatarou-kun," she called her other companion. A thin-looking boy appeared infront of her. They shared a minute of silence looking at each other. Then Hanatarou somehow understood her silent order.

"As you wish, Unohana-taichou."

* * *

Toushiro woke up finding himself lying on the most comfortable bed. He felt tubes on his nose and so in his mouth; he realized that he was once in a critical condition.

"Damn."

That's what he said when he realized that he was back at Seireitei, without the reason why he went there. Then he turned sideways to look outside the window. The sky was clear.

"You're awake," said a voice from outside. Retsu Unohana appeared and was holding a tray of lunch. "Are you okay now?"

He stretched his limbs and so his arms. Toushiro winced slightly when pain shot through him.

"I don't think so,"

Unohana placed the tray on the table and gave the cup of tea to him.

He carefully sipped the tea, but its warmness made his tongue roll in sudden pain. But when he gulped and drank it down, his stomach began to rumble in the good warmth, which is perfect for the cold weather.

"What happened to you?"

Toushiro looked at Unohana, who seemed to be vastly worried of him.

"I was ugh…. Lost and beaten, you see…"

'Why? I mean… you're not like that. You're not beaten easily."

Toushiro didn't respond, but he sip his tea quietly instead.

_Even I do not know that._

"Is there something bugging you?" She asked suddenly.

"None," he said firmly, then taking another sip of his half-consumed tea. Unohana frowned for she felt that he was lying.

"How do you feel when you heard of Hinamori?" She asked casually as she handed him his lunch.

"I was worried. But the half of me felt anger. I really don't know why she chose to be with him, in spite of everything he did to us."

"I believe," Unohana started, as she fixed the curtains of the window. "That she indeed loves him with all her life. She will sacrifice anything, even killing her childhood friend, for him. Aizen made her love him; it's according to his plans."

Toushiro was frustrated of what he just heard. He bent his head down and glared at his hands for a while. He should have killed him at the very start. Aizen had hurt all of his love ones; his friends, Hinamori, and…

"Karin!" He shouted rather loudly for Unohana had jump of surprise. "How is she anyway?" He asked suddenly to her.

"She went home," she said quietly as she sat beside his sickbed,

"What?!" He said as though he didn't hear her clearly.

_She couldn't be._

_She was just kidding._

"Yes, she went home, after she was detained in cell 957. Poor girl, she was just defending herself from Aizen. Then Commander-General went a little paranoid of what happened. It's all a big mess."

"Detained? What was happening here?" He said in a panic tone, but keeping his composure as good as possible.

"After she was taken to our emergency ward, Commander-General Yamamoto ordered us to take her to cell 957 and be detained there for a few weeks. It is to prevent her from following you and so as isolating her from Aizen," she said and gave a heavy sigh. She looked disappointed of what she just said. "Or maybe for punishing her of what she did."

Toushiro's insides began to rumble of sudden anger and rage.

"What did she do wrong? Letting Hinamori go?"

Unohana didn't answer him. She just sat there quietly.

"This is insane," he mumbled softly. "It's my entire fault."

"Excuse me?" Unohana asked him for she didn't hear him clearly.

"If I didn't follow Hinamori, I should have protected her from being imprisoned. I should have taken care of her. I should have looked after her. It's my fault," he said in an undertone. He harshly pulled off the tubes from his body. He stood up and grabbed his clothes. All the pain he was feeling was nothing to him for the moment. All he cares about was Karin.

"Hitsugayataichou, you have to be calm," Unohana said in a worried tone. But he ignored her and shoved his clothes around him. He walked continuously towards Ukitake's headquarters. He needed to find a way to go to Karakura Town.

_Karin._

_Wait for me._

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Waah. What a cliff-hanger! Anyway, on the next chap I will give you a quirky surprise. I'll update soon! XOXO

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	10. 3 Days Later

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oh. sorry for the Über late update again. the projects and mid-year exams really got in the way. Anyway, this is tad short compared to the previous chapters. But it's a NEW start though. :). since it is our vacation, I'll update frequently.

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.3 days later.

Karin was walking towards school with her sister, Yuzu. It was three days since she left from Karakura Town, and surprisingly, everything fell into the right place. One, no one remembered that she was gone and two, she's living a normal life again. Soccer during boring afternoons, eating Yuzu's delicious cooking. One thing still missing was the presence of her brother. She missed him so much and Karin was still in remorse for making him upset, even though she already went home as for redemption.

Then something's bothering her yet she can't find that single thought, as though it was hidden in the farthest corner of her mind. Karin was floating through her own little world when someone grabbed her hand and pulled her harshly.

"Are you okay, Karinchan?" Yuzu asked her thoughtfully yet in a panic tone.

"Huh, what?"

"You seemed to be a little out of yourself that you didn't notice a car heading our way."

Karin felt a little ashamed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Yuzu," she said half-laughing, as she lead the way, "come on, we're going to be late."

When they arrived at the school, they went to their separate ways for they have classes at different buildings. She lazily went straight to her seat and fixed her things, ignoring the noises of the room. Then she felt a strange sensation; a reiatsu. She quickly ran and looked over the window.

_There's nothing here._

Then she ran quickly up to the rooftop to search the shinigami. When she arrived there, she saw nothing but the plants and flowers of the botanical section. When she heard the bell rang, she gloomily walked back to her classroom. Then the familiar reiatsu became a more evident and strong as she went near the door. She stopped abruptly in front of the open door, staring at him with surprised eyes.

"Oh hell no…"

"……….please say hi to your new classmate, Hitsugaya Toushiro."

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Cliff-hanger much?

Anyway, i'll just give you a hint of what's going to happen in this new season. A Halloween ball! okay that's enough. :)


	11. Back to Bickering

**Yay! I finally updated for heaven's sake! I'm sorry guys, I'm just a bit busy and having a serious writer's block with this story. Sumimasen!**

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**_"Back to Bickering"_**

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"So…" she started hesitantly when they were out of earshot. It was the end of the day, and pretty much everyone in their class was intrigued by him.

Some of the girls giggled every time he spoke ("what a bunch of giddy kids," she muttered under her breath as she tried to doodle a robot on the back of her notebook.).

The other boys were making fun of his hair, ("That's okay. We made fun of his hair when we first met him," she wheezed as she kept on poking her pencil case with her pencil.).

She was convinced that Toushiro was naturally smart too. For every question their teachers asked, he effortlessly answers it correctly. Then she even catches him glancing at her direction, which made her pink on the face to be honest. And when her seatmate notices her different shade, she always replies, "It's really hot today, isn't it?" and followed by a nervous laugh; not really smooth.

So basically, Toushiro made an impression today at school. She still didn't know why, for goodness' sake, he was here.

She thought that after she went from Seireitei, she will forget about being a shinigami, her zanpakutou, this big mess…and him; she was wrong. Karin was pretty disappointed at the fact that she can't ignore these things.

"So…" she repeated when she didn't saw him paying attention, "What are you doing here? Seriously."

He stopped from cleaning the board and turned to face her.

"They sent me to guard your town," he said seriously as he leaned on the board and folding his arms, pretty much like he was doing when he's trying to keep calm or be extremely intimidating. She raised her eyebrows.

"Eh? So are you saying that our town's going to be attacked by those arrancars sooner or later?"

"Yeah, and knowing that most of the arrancars they sent here were defeated, they'll going to send more powerful ones," then he smirked at her, "Powerful enough to crush your head with one swoosh of their fingers."

"Hey," she said crossly, "Why are you being so cocky to me now?"

_I still can remember what happened over there, dude. You just ignored me when I was dying inside a cell, while you chased after your pretty Momo. Whatever, I will try my best to get over this silly little cru-  
_

"Did you feel that?" He asked suddenly, bursting her little thought bubble. She suddenly spun around and looked over the window. There's a weird reiatsu outside.

"Faintly," I said as I tried to concentrate, he suddenly opened the door of the classroom and left me. She grunted and followed him outside.

She took the stairs. In every step she made, the faint reiatsu grew more powerful. It was so powerful that she could barely breathe. Karin went outside the school building and saw Toushiro, who was already in his shinigami form, fighting a weird looking arrancar.

"Toushiro!" She shouted as she fished that pez thingy that Urahara gave her from her pocket. She can't help but feel all worried for him, despite her promise to herself. _Screw it_, she thought, _this is an emergency!_

"No, stay away!" He bellowed as he evaded the arrancar's attack. When he tried to swing his zanpakutou just below its head, the arrancar suddenly vanished.

"What just happened?" She asked frantically as she went towards his spot.

"He might be going to other places to find some 'food'", he said panting as he sheath his sword, "Don't worry, Renji and the others are assigned to different places. I'm sure no one's gonna be in danger."

Karin made a sigh of relief; for a second, she suddenly thought of her family. Then she beamed at him, making him scowl at her.

_Funny how you ended up guarding my school, heh. _

He started walking away from the school grounds and towards the road; she was following him from behind. He couldn't help but be happy in seeing her again. Even though they like to pester each other, they seemed to be in good terms, well sort of. He was worried that Karin will be angry at him for leaving her alone, but now, she was smiling. _This is going to be a good start_.

"Hey," he spoke, finally breaking the silence between them, "I thought you're going homw with your sister?"

"Well," she said as she felt the breeze that blew her raven hair, "during Mondays, her dismissal is way early than ours. So, during these times, she is already at home."

"I see," he said, "I bet she's saner than you."

"Are you saying that I'm crazy?" she asked indignantly, her voice was unusually louder, "Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Go on," he said quietly, smirking for she can't see his face, "Talk; people will think you're crazy."

Then a couple of kids just beside the field pointed their fingers at her, laughing. She suddenly realized that Toushiro's in his shinigami form and nobody, except her, can see him. Karin's ears suddenly turned red and shouted in fury.

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**So what do you think about it? I wanna know. Review guys! It makes me really happy. :D**


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